We all know what a ‘pun’ is: a joke (often a feeble joke) that is a play on words—sometimes using words that sound similar, or that have two meanings. But where does the word ‘pun’ come from? The experts at the Oxford say they are unsure, adding: ‘perhaps formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Or perhaps a borrowing from Italian.’ The Italian word they have in mind is puntiglio which in English becomes ‘punctilio’ and means ‘a minute detail.’ The word ‘pun’ has been part of English since at least 1644. And I can’t write about puns without giving you some examples (don’t blame me if they make you groan rather than laugh);
A man died when a pile of books fell on him—he only had his shelf to blame.
Thanks for explaining the word ‘many’ to me—it means a lot.
Boxes of weight loss pills were stolen from a chemist—police say the suspects are still at large.
Today a man knocked on my door and asked for a small donation towards the local swimming pool, so I gave him a glass of water.
Stop making jokes about being blind—I don’t see the point.
If at first you don't succeed—then skydiving is not for you.
Why did the octopus beat the shark in a fight? Because it was well armed.
A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.
I put up a high-voltage electric fence around my property over the weekend, my neighbour is dead against it.
I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down!
Well, I did warn you, didn’t I. And looking at those awful puns I was reminded that kids find these thing hilarious (when they’re around nine or ten years old). If you are a glutton for punish (if you’ve gone off you ‘glutton free diet’) American wordsmith Richard Lederer has written a whole book about puns. You can find it at his website: Jest for the Pun of It – Verbivore
Tonight I will be guest commentator on 'Opinionated' on News24 -- at 8pm AEST, with a repeated screening tomorrow night at 6pm AEST.
There is a new edition of the podcast 'Words with Kel Richards' now available to listen to. To hear it either scroll further down this page -- or go to wherever you usually get your podcasts.
The latest issue of The Spectator Australia is in newsagents now with a cartoon of Noah's ark on the front cover and my 'Language' column in the back.
FOR A FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO THE DAILY NEWSLETTER SCOLL FURTHER DOWN THIS PAGE >>>>>>
BOOKS:
* My latest book is called Pray Like This. To look at prayer I do what I do in these Ozword columns: I go through the most famous prayer in the world (The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father) and unpack it word by word—each chapter being a short word-study on a key word in that prayer. There is a total of 21 words studies in all. To find out more, here’s a link to the publisher’s website (where you can buy a copy if you wish): Pray Like This – matthiasmedia.com.au
* My book is Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries -- containing 50 new stories I have written about the great detective. You can find it on Amazon. Just go to Amazon and type in Sherlock Holmes: 5-Minute Mysteries in the search panel. Or use this link: h Amazon.com.au : Sherlock Holmes 5-Minute Mysteries Kel Richards
* My book "Defending the Gospel" is now in a second, fully revised, edition. You can find it here: Defending the Gospel – matthiasmedia.com.au
* If you're looking for my recent book "Flash Jim" you'll find it here -- Flash Jim, The astonis
hing story of the convict fraudster who wrote Australia's first dictionary by Kel Richards | 9781460759769 | Booktopia
* You can find all Kel's books currently in print here -- Booktopia Search Results for 'kel richards'. We sell books, hardback, paperback, audio, CDs.
* And also here -- Amazon.com.au : Kel Richards
* And you'll find more here -- Search: 4 results found for "Kel Richards" – matthiasmedia.com.au
* Many of Kel's out of print books can be found at ABE Books -- Kel Richards - AbeBooks explaining words explain the term
BY THE WAY...
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
